India unsafe: atrocities continue, outrage grows

Even as public anger over the rape of the 23-year-old woman on a bus in Delhi simmered on Monday, reports of atrocities against women continued to pour in from across the country.

Protesters in Delhi are escorted by the police as they demonstrate against the 23-year-old woman’s gang rape last week. Authorities shut down roads on Monday to end the demonstrations.

A seven-year-old was raped and killed in Sitapur, UP. In Sagar, MP, three men raped a woman in a hospital. In Maharajganj, UP, a 35-year-old woman was raped. A 25-year-old woman was allegedly raped by two men in a village near Jammu.

President Pranab Mukherjee broke his silence to call for strict action by the government that can be implemented without any further delay.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm saying: “As a father of three daughters myself, I feel as strongly about this as each one of you… Anger at this crime is justified, but violence will serve no purpose.”

In New Delhi, thousands of commuters were left stranded and there was chaos at the metro stations as the police imposed a shutdown to keep protesters away from the city centre.

Monday’s protests were peaceful. Various students and social outfits staged street plays, carried placards and shouted slogans as police kept a close watch.